Californian gadget giant Apple is being sued over its new iPhone 4 after angry users in America complained about poor reception.
iPhone 4 owners complain it can lose reception when holding the bottom
left corner
Despite Apple's cult-like following and 1.7 million handsets flying off the shelves in the first three days of its launch, many owners seem less than happy with reception problems.
Some claim that Apple has breached its warranty and falsely advertised their shiny new must-have product because it loses signal if they hold it a certain way.
It has been dubbed the "grip of death" by some users.
But the tech company's initial response was to advise users to "avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases".
Apple boss Steve Jobs is under fire for telling users to hold the phone
differently
When the iPhone 4 was unveiled by Apple boss Steve Jobs on June 7, millions watched online as he demonstrated the new phone saying the "integrated antennas right in the structure of the phone; it's never been done before and it's really cool engineering".
Alan Benevisty from San Jose has not found his phone so "cool", claiming his phone drops reception if covered by the palm of his hand, and he is not alone.
In another case Christopher Dydyk is suing for aesthetic reasons claiming that putting a case over the phone may sort the reception problem but ruins the gadget's look.
California law firm Kershaw, Cutter and Ratinoff used a website to recruit disenchanted iPhone 4 buyers for a lawsuit against Apple.
"Thousands of people are really unhappy with their new iPhones and Apple's response to the antenna issue," the law firm said in a blog post.
The company claims to have received 1,400 emails in a single day and that 98% of the missives "overwhelmingly expressed discontent".
Apple has sold more than 50 million handsets since the original iPhone's launch in 2007.
But rival developers along with Google's Android system mean the market for smartphones is now a much more crowded place.
iPhone 4 owners complain it can lose reception when holding the bottom
left corner
Despite Apple's cult-like following and 1.7 million handsets flying off the shelves in the first three days of its launch, many owners seem less than happy with reception problems.
Some claim that Apple has breached its warranty and falsely advertised their shiny new must-have product because it loses signal if they hold it a certain way.
It has been dubbed the "grip of death" by some users.
But the tech company's initial response was to advise users to "avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases".
Apple boss Steve Jobs is under fire for telling users to hold the phone
differently
When the iPhone 4 was unveiled by Apple boss Steve Jobs on June 7, millions watched online as he demonstrated the new phone saying the "integrated antennas right in the structure of the phone; it's never been done before and it's really cool engineering".
Alan Benevisty from San Jose has not found his phone so "cool", claiming his phone drops reception if covered by the palm of his hand, and he is not alone.
In another case Christopher Dydyk is suing for aesthetic reasons claiming that putting a case over the phone may sort the reception problem but ruins the gadget's look.
California law firm Kershaw, Cutter and Ratinoff used a website to recruit disenchanted iPhone 4 buyers for a lawsuit against Apple.
"Thousands of people are really unhappy with their new iPhones and Apple's response to the antenna issue," the law firm said in a blog post.
The company claims to have received 1,400 emails in a single day and that 98% of the missives "overwhelmingly expressed discontent".
Apple has sold more than 50 million handsets since the original iPhone's launch in 2007.
But rival developers along with Google's Android system mean the market for smartphones is now a much more crowded place.